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-   -   Boeing Starliner (https://www.pprune.org/space-flight-operations/641977-boeing-starliner.html)

cavuman1 25th August 2024 00:16


Originally Posted by cavuman1 (Post 11682494)
The continued postponement of Starliner's re-entry date concerns me. If helium leaks represented a threat to safe flight, the craft would have been brought home soonest to limit pressure loss. Malfunctioning and non-functioning thrusters are a matter of grave importance. Correct flight attitudes during re-entry are critical; axis excursions might lead to loss of crew. Perhaps there is another glitch of which we are unaware. Do Boeing and NASA know something we don't? Fingers crossed for Butch and Suni.

- Ed

I am sorry for being prescient in this event.

- Ed

Pilot DAR 25th August 2024 12:27

Thinking that the mission for Suni and Butch has evolved from 8 day s to 8 months, I'm imagining a NASA recruiting poster saying something like "Join NASA and see the world" - "again, and again, and again.......".

Though I'm certainly not knowledgeable on spacecraft, software, and helium leaks, I do know something about signing on the line saying that an aircraft is fit and safe for fight. I can't blame a staff member somewhere in a suitable safety structure in NASA or Boeing for, in their best conscience, saying "I can't sign on that line with what I know to date". I think back to the congressional investigations following the Apollo 1 fire, where (I believe it was Deke Slayton) said that it was "failure of imagination" "We just did not ever imagine that type of risk". So now, no one wants to be the person who could next be in front of a congressional investigation, admitting that they did not think of a risk - particularly if they work for Boeing!

I remember the old pilot saying "it's better to be down here, wishing you were up there, than being up there, wishing you were down here". I guess that that needs to be changed for spaceflight, to say "better to be up there, then on your way back down, wishing you'd stayed up"!

jimgriff 25th August 2024 13:53

Out of interest, now that the ISS has two 'extra mouths to feed' so to speak- how much food reserves are carried for such contingencies? What about such mundane things as spare clothes? Toothbrushes? I guess it could be quite a list that two more crew than is planned for could generate?

what next 25th August 2024 14:07


Originally Posted by jimgriff (Post 11722927)
Out of interest, now that the ISS has two 'extra mouths to feed' so to speak- how much food reserves are carried for such contingencies? What about such mundane things as spare clothes? Toothbrushes? I guess it could be quite a list that two more crew than is planned for could generate?

There have been two uncrewed supply missions in August alone (one Cygnus and one Progress capsule) so I would guess that they packed enough spare socks on these to cater for the needs of "Suni" and "Butch" as well... BTW: For us Europeans, at least for me, it is still totally unusual, that highly respected people like these astronauts are are generally referred to on first name basis. Would the media talk about the president and his vice president as "Joe and Kamala"? Certainly not. Or were Armstrong and Aldrin ever called "Neil and Buzz" while they were on their moon mission? Not that I can remember.

WillowRun 6-3 25th August 2024 15:14


Originally Posted by what next (Post 11722935)
There have been two uncrewed supply missions in August alone (one Cygnus and one Progress capsule) so I would guess that they packed enough spare socks on these to cater for the needs of "Suni" and "Butch" as well... BTW: For us Europeans, at least for me, it is still totally unusual, that highly respected people like these astronauts are are generally referred to on first name basis. Would the media talk about the president and his vice president as "Joe and Kamala"? Certainly not. Or were Armstrong and Aldrin ever called "Neil and Buzz" while they were on their moon mission? Not that I can remember.

If I'm recalling the facts accurately, yes . . . throughout the Apollo missions, including the three Skylab missions after the lunar landings ended, and also during the missions in Earth and lunar orbit prior to Apollo 11, Capcom addressed the astronauts on a first name basis. And during the several lunar surface EVAs (Apollo missions 11, 12, and 14-17) the astronauts communicated amongst themselves first-names consistently.

But I understand your point as referring more directly to the public-relations and media settings. I think you're probably correct, in that nicknames or diminutive forms were not generally substituted for the astronauts' full names, for example, Tom Stafford, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell.

Still, especially since both Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are U.S. Navy, recognition must be given here to the late Charles "Pete" Conrad (U.S. Navy/NASA Astronaut) - referred to with his nickname included, frequently in place of his given name.

WHBM 25th August 2024 18:17


Originally Posted by what next (Post 11722935)
Would the media talk about the president and his vice president as "Joe and Kamala"? Certainly not.

The recent UK Prime Minister Johnson was pretty universally referred to by the media as Boris. I have a letter from a colleague MP (of the opposite party) to him doing so. It's an increasing trend.

NineEighteen 26th August 2024 01:51


Originally Posted by Pilot DAR (Post 11722872)
Though I'm certainly not knowledgeable on spacecraft, software, and helium leaks, I do know something about signing on the line saying that an aircraft is fit and safe for fight. I can't blame a staff member somewhere in a suitable safety structure in NASA or Boeing for, in their best conscience, saying "I can't sign on that line with what I know to date". I think back to the congressional investigations following the Apollo 1 fire, where (I believe it was Deke Slayton) said that it was "failure of imagination" "We just did not ever imagine that type of risk".

I believe it’s important to treat every space flight as a test flight and act accordingly. It’s a risky endeavour and requires bold decisions and everyone involved needs to be aware of that. Sooner or later and the quote Alan Shepard someone has to ‘light this candle’ and go.

it’s progress that in this case NASA has given itself options. Even if they’d fully appreciated their dire situation, STS-107 had few. Before that, Commander Hoot Gibson, way back on STS-27, was as convinced his crew would perish on reentry and also had few, if any, options.

0918

BlankBox 26th August 2024 18:43

https://www.reuters.com/business/aer...ce-2024-08-16/

Sure did'nt see this coming... /s

ORAC 26th August 2024 20:46

Word is it won’t go through - Boeing and LM vastly overvalue what is a company which has lost most of its market to SpaceX already and has more competitors such as Blue Origin rapidly overtaking them.

ULA is the modern day WordPerfect or Kodak……

MechEngr 26th August 2024 21:06

OK - Boeing and NASA and now SpaceX all have plans in place.

What of the rest of us?

We need to get roughly 3 Million people into full Gorilla and Orangutan and Chimp-like costumes and be ready to meet those returned from their unexpected stranding in every location they might go. Can we count on support from Uber and Lyft if they are hailed for the rides home? It will be asking a lot, I know, for some to perhaps be shoveling snow in these costumes, but it is so worth the effort.

The costumes don't have to be good. Not particularly convincing. They just have to be everywhere.

Remember. Apes Together Strong!

TURIN 26th August 2024 23:53


Originally Posted by BlankBox (Post 11723635)

Saw this last week, wasn't sure if it was clickbait so didn't pay much attention. We shall see.

ORAC 27th August 2024 12:02

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....0a58576160.png

Asturias56 28th August 2024 08:47

"ULA is the modern day WordPerfect or Kodak……"

Hmmm - but WordPerfect was so much better than Word - I spent a happy 45 minutes trying to format a contract last week in Word- just a nightmare

ORAC 28th August 2024 11:17

But it was complex, only really usable by experts, and expensive. It was abandoned by the customer market and the company went under because it had so many overheads and inefficient practices.

You can't beat the market.

MostlyHarmless 30th August 2024 06:34

Coming back empty no earlier than 6 Sept

https://www.space.com/boeing-starlin...th-september-6

netstruggler 30th August 2024 07:56

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....bff2bb6aa0.png

ORAC 30th August 2024 21:41

NASA:

NASA and Boeing teams are "go" to proceed with undocking the uncrewed #Starliner from the @Space_Station on Friday, Sept. 6.

Undocking coverage is set to begin at 5:45pm ET (2145 UTC), with Starliner touching down at 12:03am (0403 UTC) on Sept. 7.

ORAC 1st September 2024 18:39

Love the headline reference - and the readers comments are brilliant……

https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/0...s-on-saturday/

SUBMARINES IN SPACE —

The Starliner spacecraft has started to emit strange noises

On Saturday NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore noticed some strange noises emanating from a speaker inside the Starliner spacecraft.

"I've got a question about Starliner," Wilmore radioed down to Mission Control, at Johnson Space Center in Houston. "There's a strange noise coming through the speaker ... I don't know what's making it."…..

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....15d67e9787.png

ORAC 1st September 2024 20:23

Everyone is freaking out over this, but there are many logical explanations.

​​​​​​​Although Starliner is *most* likely haunted, it could also be aliens, space whales, sophon interference, forever lost cosmonauts banging on the hatch begging to be let in, or simply the Babadook.

BugBear 1st September 2024 21:25

Sound.
 
That sound is the stop of an hydraulic ram. Pipes are talking. Intermittent high pressure halting against a dam ...a relief valve doing its job...imo
bear



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